The annual Dam Duct Tape and Cardboard boat race has made its way back to the Hobart Lakefront. 5 teams go head to head to get their cardboard boat all the way out to the middle of Lake George. Some teams have been doing this for years and for others this is their first ever. This year is the 13th anniversary of the Dam Duct Tape and Cardboard race.
“We absolutely love to do this event. We try to do unique things here. And since we have the lakes we try to do fun events and utilize our lake for stuff that's a little bit different. It helps bring people together,” said Nikki Lopez, the event coordinator for the city of Hobart.
A lot of participants of the Dam Duct Tape and Cardboard boat race take it very seriously. They make sure to find the best materials to keep their boat afloat. Even the way the boats are decorated matters to this race.
“There are groups that build these great, huge elaborate boats. We have some defending champions called the Corn Getters. It's a father and son team that has been doing this for the last seven years and they're undefeated. Now they're back to defend the title this year, which is really exciting,” said Lopez.
Not only does the first person who gets to the finish line win a prize but there are two more prizes, the “best sink” and the most creative boat. Every prize is $100 and the stakes are high.
Doug Wainwright and Carl Baley have been known to create the craziest duct tape and cardboard boats. They have one best design for four years in a row and this race will mark their fifth win of the best-designed boat.
This year their boat is an ocean life-themed boat named “Plan B”, the boat included sea creatures all around the boat. There were also pieces saved from the past boats that they put on there as well. For example, they did a viking themed boat one year and kept the dragon head of the boat to put on this boat.
The Duct Tape and Cardboard boat race also welcomes newcomers. Brother and sister duo, Cloe Carda and Devin Rivera, worked for five hours on their “Narwhal” boat. This is their first race and they are super excited.
They used a big thick cardboard box and 10 rolls of duct tape. Unfortunately, the Narwhal never made it back to shore. But getting in that nice cool lake in 80-degree weather doesn’t sound too bad. Their hard work wasn’t for nothing when these two won the “best sink” award.
Almost everyone from the festival came around Lake George in anticipation of who was going to win. And for the 6th year in a row, father and son duo, Michael Bates and John Holland, took the first place spot with their “Corn Getter” duct tape and cardboard boat.
